Serenbe, Georgia
Community vibrancy is an aspect to every community that can determine how successful a community is at encouraging community participation and offering their residents a unique place to live. Serenbe, Georgia is a vibrant place to live that is full of culture and creativity and provides a different serene environment for its residents. The community was founded by a grass roots initiative started by Steve and Marie Nygren in 2001. The community’s goals are to provide a community focused on conservation, agriculture and creativity. As of today Serenbe consist of 1,000 acres which has 70% of the community dedicated to green space. The community is dedicated to land preservation, agriculture, energy efficiency, green building, walk ability, arts and culture, and community living. a community where people authentically live, work, learn and play in celebration of life’s beauty . Serenbe is unique and vibrant because the residents and local officials work together to come up with new ideas that are universally ground breaking to reduce their carbon foot print and live a green lifestyle. Serenbe’s unique eco friendly techniques and lifestyles attract visitors and residents from all over the United States to come and experience the serenity Serenbe has to offer. Community Vibrancy Example Serenbe Georgia Serenbe, Georgia is a 1,000 Acre community just outside of Atlanta that focuses its goals on land preservation, agriculture, energy efficiency, green building, walk ability and high density building. The community is only thirty minutes from Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson Airport making it easily accessible for visitors and residents. Serenbe’s main goal is to accommodate the inevitable need for housing while making a minimal impact on the natural surroundings of the community. Seventy Percent of the land in the Serenbe community will always be set aside for land preservation. The Serenbe community was founded by a grassroots initiative that was led by Steve and Marie Nygren and Rawson Haverty. These landowners lived in the rural Serenbe area before it was developed and saw a need to protect the rural landscape for Atlanta’s urban sprawl. These residents began in the 1990’s gathering land owners together to discuss ideas on how to protect their community and they developed the Chattahoochee Hill Country community alliance. In 2001 the alliance received a grant to start their planning and they hired a professional planning firm which developed the Chattahoochee Hill Country Community Plan that was adopted by the city in 2002. Serenbe seeks to use various land use tools such as land purchase for land conservation and development strategies such as mixed use villages to help combat Atlanta’s urban sprawl. The term used for Serenbe’s development is called New Urbanism because they focus their efforts on dense building construction and mixed use buildings in order to help minimize their impact on nature. All buildings in the Serenbe Community abide by strict building regulations established by Earth Craft and in 2008 they received Earth Craft Development of the year for their developmental success. Other than focusing on land development, Serenbe also focuses on recycling, composting, alternative fuel, geo thermal heating and organic farming through Serenbe Farms. Serenbe Farms sales organic and local goods to residents of Serenbe and the Blue Eyed Daisy Bakers is the first silver LEED certified building. Another great thing about Serenbe is that the whole community is connected via a walking path that is designed and maintained in order to minimize land disturbance. Serenbe also practices organic landscaping by minimizing lawn size with the idea that no lawn equals not chemicals and therefore is better for the environment. Serenbe also has underground trashcans that sort trash and compost and they have Green at a Glance lighting regulations and lighting that not only minimizes light pollution but provides and artistic form of lighting that is pleasing to look at by residents and visitors. Serenbe strives to exemplify nature, passion, creativity and community by providing residents a place where they can live, work and play while taking care of their natural surroundings. Community Example Serenbe, Georgia is a small village that is located within the city of Chattahoochee Hill, Georgia which is in southern Fulton County at latitude 33.5506 and longitude -84.7605 and has a population of 2,391 residents. The county has a population of 47.65 people per square mile. As of January of 2012 Serenbe village had a total population of only about 170 full time residents. The residents of Serenbe are a collective group of people from artist to farmers to business people you are sure to find a unique group of neighbors. Serenbe has gained national attention because it is the only acknowledged examples of a land use technique called New Urbanism in the entire south. The community is acknowledged for attracting hikers, cyclist and runners because of the rolling hill land scape. All parts of the community are laid out strategically to encourage walking and all the buildings are designed to flow with the terrain and minimize land disturbance. The founders of Serenbe are Steve and Marie Nygren and they decided that they would get local landowners together and they formed the Chattahoochee Hills Country Alliance which received a grant and they began planning the community of Serenbe. The overall goal of the residents of Serenbe is to provide a place where residents can live, work and play while embracing nature and combating urban sprawl. The community was built as a place that would embrace art, education, wellness and agriculture. The community is split up into several hamlets that specialize in various forms of culture. For example the Selborne Hamlet specializes in visual and culinary art. The other two hamlets focus on agriculture, health and healing. The three hamlets that make up Serenbe are Selborne, Grange and Mado. The Serenbe community was developed by Steve Nygren a business man who saw potential in Serenbe as a great place to raise a family and in 1996 he moved his family to Serenbe full time. Mr. Nygren named Serenbe by his wife’s request because she said that Serenbe refers to the serenity that the location provides. If you combine the words be Serene you get Serenbe which is how Serenbe came to be called Serenbe. Vibrancy Measures and Awards Serenbe, Georgia offers so many unique qualities it is hard to begin to describe one specific aspect that leads to vibrancy. The goal and mission of the community is to provide and cultured and unique place for its residents to live. Serenbe, Georgia is a place of vibrancy because the community leaders and residents have come together to embrace nature and make a unique community that embrace nature and creativity. Serenbe is a vibrant place to live because residents are dedicated to learning about nature and coming up with new and innovative ideas that will help stop urban sprawl and promote land preservation and eco friendly living. Serenbe is a cutting edge society that is experimenting with dense community building which forces people to come together and come up with new and innovative ways to use the spaces they are given. Organic and local goods are a staple of the Serenbe community and community leaders and business owners push buying local which promotes a healthy economic arena for small business owners in Serenbe which helps provide a variety of unique gifts and services for residents and tourist. People inside and outside the Serenbe Community are always in amazement at all the innovative ideas that the community has come up with and acknowledge in as a vibrant up and coming area. Serenbe has been in the New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Serenbe was acknowledged as a Development of Excellence by the Urban Land Institute. In 2008 Earth Craft named Serenbe their Development of the Year and also in 2008 the Atlanta chapter of the Urban Land Institute awarded Serenbe with their annual Sustainability Award. Serenbe was also featured in Cottage Living and was named in the top 10 of best communities in the United States and was named the Lungs of Atlanta by Home Quarterly. You can tell that Serenbe is a vibrant place because it has been written about hundreds of times in various magazines and people are scrambling for Serenbe’s next innovative eco friendly idea. Funding The funding for the Serenbe community first came from a residential alliance developed by Steve and Mary Nygren. Local residents of the Chattahoochee Hills began to get worried about their rural surrounding as Atlanta began to spread closer and closer. The residents came together and formed the Chattahoochee Hills Country alliance and in 2001 the alliance obtained a grant and hired a professional planning firm and began to develop the Serenbe Community. After using the money from the grant the alliance drafted the Chattahoochee Hills Country Community Plan. The plan is now incorporated in the South Fulton 2015 Amended Comprehensive Land Use Plan and the Fulton County Chattahoochee Hill Country Overlay District Ordinance, both were adopted in 2002. Through the alliance and grant the Serenbe community has used various techniques such a land purchase for conservation in order to see their vision accomplished. Support, Opposition and Response The overall support and response from the formation of the Serenbe community has been very positive. Starting from the beginning local officials have been very supportive of the Serenbe mission and without the first initial grant for the community from Fulton County the community may have never gotten its start. Response inside and outside the community has been very positive and I was able to find little to no opposition to the Serenbe Community. Response from the public has been very welcoming. Serenbe has been described by residents and outsiders as a utopia that provides the lungs for Atlanta. Serenbe was also featured in an article that supports Serenbe and its innovative green living ideas called You Are How You Live. Serenbe as been acknowledge by Cottage Living as one of the top ten best places to live and is described by those who visit as a place of pure serenity. Serenbe has received numerous rewards that show that people have begun to acknowledge their new ideas and are accepting ideas. Serenbe received the 2008 Sustainable Living Award, the 2008 Development of Excellence and was also given the title of Development of the year by Earth Craft. Residents and tourist alike describe Serenbe a must see and a place to get away and embrace natures gifts. Those who have been to Serenbe describe it as a place where they can enjoy the simple life and escape the hustle and bustle of the busy city. The overall reaction to the community has been very progressive. Amongst all the amenities Serenbe provides it also provides various celebrations and events throughout the year such as the May Day Celebration where residents and tourist both come together to celebrate nature. Participation in these annual events has almost doubled per year and have increased tourism and knowledge about the community leading to more volume and curiosity. New Ideas and Innovations Since the Community began development in 2001 the Chattahoochee Hills Country Alliance has been on a forward progressive path to come up with new ideas on how to better the Serenbe Community and progress their overall goals of conservation, agriculture and development. Local officials encourage residents to come together and present new ideas to come up with new policies that will benefit the overall community. Overtime Serenbe has added a staple to their development and mission which is called Serenbe Farms. The Serenbe Farms sponsors a Farm to Table Movement that encourages residents to eat local and organic foods while maintain a healthy lifestyle. Serenbe Farms has become an important feature to the Serenbe community and every Saturday they provide a local farmers market to residents so they can purchase locally grown produce which helps residents live healthy why contributing with the economic successes of the community. Also another new policy that Serenbe sponsors is free events throughout the year such as The May Day Celebration, July 4th parade, concerts, artist shows, lectures and farm tours. These events are vital to the community’s success because they invite tourist and residents to come out and embrace nature while being educated on how to conserve and live a sustainable lifestyle. Lastly another new policy that the community has come up with is several new cutting edge water conservation efforts. Some of the water techniques developed by Serenbe include water smart appliances, wastewater treatment techniques, minimal landscaping and storm water treatment with the use of natural buffers. These new policies have allowed their overall water usage to be 25 percent lower than the national average. Serenbe is continually adding new aspects to their community in order to progressively educate their residents on nature and living an eco friendly life to help emphasize the overall mission and goals of the community. May Day at Serenbe Other than the basic innovative ideas and amenities that Serenbe offers it also offers an annual celebration that demonstrates and exemplifies Serenbe’s mission in a celebration of Life, Nature and Health. Serenbe’s May Day Celebration is a Culmination of weeklong activities to celebrate Earth Day held in downtown Serenbe. This is an Opportunity to showcase Serenbe’s ecofriendly heritage and practices. At the celebration guest can experience gardening demos, eco educational games, vendors, food, music, organic produce, art exhibits, environmental exhibitions, dancing and social interaction. The community invites 40 emerging environmentalist guest speakers to come and give lectures to the residents. At the celebration residents and local officials come together after listening to the environmental lectures and come up with new ideas on how that continue to progress their conservation practices. The residents come up with a master plan that the community can follow throughout the year. At the festival green bags are distributed to guest that provides a green survival kit and encourages ten ways to live a green lifestyle. Serenbe’s Mayday celebration promotes vibrancy by encouraging residents and visitors to interact and celebrate our environment by becoming educated on ways to be green while also enjoying a fun filled day of music, games, food and environmental demonstrations. It encourages all who attend to take care of our environment and embrace our natural surroundings. The first Mayday attracted 600 people and on the 7th annual event 6000 people are expected.